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. . . when hard-core conservatives deny climate change, they are not just protecting the trillions in wealth that are threatened by climate action. They are also defending something even more precious to them: an entire ideological project--neoliberalism--which holds that the market is always right, regulation is always wrong, private is good and public is bad, and taxes that support public services are the worst of all.

Just finished "The Book that Changed America (How Darwin's Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation)", by Randall Fuller.
From a single copy of "Origins", the intelligentsia of Concord eventually read and expressed opinions about Darwin's bombshell.
Only a few (Asa Gray and Thoreau) really accepted the theory of natural selection. The rest either totally rejected it or tried to assimilate it into their own beliefs (Emerson for one).
As I read the book, I was constantly (but not surprisingly) amazed at how the power of belief and faith (in god) swayed the opinions of very learned men and women (Louisa May Alcott). I am perplexed as to why reason and factual evidence were ignored. Spontaneous generation caused by a divine "Artist" was the prevailing choice.
Thoreau, however, stated "It is a vulgar prejudice that some plants are 'spontaneously generated', but science knows that they come from seeds". (I became a much greater admirer of him than ever before.)

Despite its "preaching to the choir", I do recommend
reading this book for its historical content. The account of issues and concerns that were a part of the mid 19th century are "still very much with us today, including racism and the enduring conflict between science and religion".

If you're into astronomy, I learned a lot from The Glass Universe, by Dava Sobel. It's about "How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars", a historical story of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Quiz: What do you consider "Famous Works of Art" and why? Well, a book by that title answers the question (by John Nici).

The "art" includes sculptures and things like the Egyptian Great Sphinx and Tomb of King Tut. Also listed are The Parthenon Sculptures, Apollo Belvadere, Nike of Samothrace, and The Thinker.

The rest are paintings and one photograph. Ready? The Birth of Venus, Mona Lisa, Sistine Madonna, The Burial of Count Orgaz, Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer, Washington Crossing the Delaware, Luncheon on the Grass, The Starry Night, The Scream, American Gothic, Guernica, and Campbell's Soup.

The photo is Migrant Mother. And the author threw in The Vietnam Vererans Memorial for some reason.

Interesting history of each explaining why he chose the ones he did. If you want to know the artists, just ask (or google). I really enjoyed the book.